Here is my tribute to being single in a couples’ world. “You are enough” is dedicated to the huge percentage of people who, as a result of being single, go forgotten on Valentines Day. It’s for those who aren’t a fan of commercial businesses reminding them of what they apparently “lack,” those for whom February 14th couldn’t come and go fast enough.

So full of thanks and gratitude! Begin Within has received a grant from The Awesome Foundation to produce an upcoming video they recognize as being “Awesome-worthy”.

I’m still keeping the nature of the video under wraps as the video is still in in development, but prepare for some awesomeness to be launched on February 3rd. Just in time for Valentines day… (hint, hint.)

Awesome foundation: Thank you for your generous support. The fact that each month you support artists to create and bring their artistic visions to life, you are truly awesome.

It’s always awesome to get a 5 star review from a renowned review source, but this one’s extra special. The reason? It’s reviewed by my target audience – a 6 year old girl named Disha. And the best part isn’t that she liked it, but rather, that it’s clear Disha “gets” the message within the story.

Here’s a few of Dishas own words:

“She (Leela) finally realizes that even if she can never do a headstand she is happy because she can do other things like a somersault. I loved this book because like Leela I cannot do a headstand but I am good at doing a tree pose!”

Bravo Disha! Each time I hear that a child is able to let go of the disappointment attached to having an unattainable goal, and can instead celebrate something that’s within their reach to do, it thrills me to the bone.

Wow. This is a video I’d recommend anyone to see. Even if you haven’t personally experienced depression, there’s a high chance you know someone who has.

As someone who has experienced clinical depression through different times in my life, I found this account of the experience to be accurate and articulated in a poetic way that will resonate with many.

The holidays and New Year are upon us and for many it’s a time of refection and resolution. While I’m a big fan of creating intentions and change, there are aspects about the act of creating resolutions that began to feel questionable to me a few years ago. An interesting thing though – since I stopped creating them, I’ve actually achieved more of my goals. Here’s why:

First of all, the “energy” around resolutions is a negative one. The belief behind creating resolutions suggests that we have to change or “solve” something in our lives because what we’ve been doing thus far hasn’t been working, that we aren’t good enough, and in order to “get where we want” in life, (suggesting it’s all about getting somewhere) we must commit to a “stepping up” of sorts. We need to be “fixed.”

While I do support creating change in ones life, there’s a tacit pressure attached to resolutions, which suggests that if we can’t successfully stick with our commitments, that we’ve screwed up – that in effect, we are screw ups. If we fail, we’re knowingly setting ourselves up to berate ourselves for not being good enough, strong enough, or resilient enough. So before we even begin to make efforts to attain our goals, there’s often a feeling of struggle or unlikelihood in fulfilling our resolutions.

“This time it will be different,” we say to ourselves, in regards to achieving our goals, but it rarely is. And we can’t understand why we’ve yet again failed.

Why is it that we commonly fail when our desire for change is so strong? The reason is clear and simple. We can rarely create change simply because we “resolve” to. Behind every unhealthy or undesirable action there is a habit – an unconscious belief that drives us.

Please come out and help celebrate the release of Tamara Levitt’s recently published book Happiness Doesn’t Come from Headstands; A modern day story about the search for happiness, and one girl’s discovery that even in the face of failure, peace can be found. Presented by Begin With. It’s all happening on On Thursday September 25th at The Gladstone Hotel!

Included in the evening will be an exclusive screening of Tamara Levitt’s short film “Ode to Failure”,

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Hey, I'm Tamara!

I'm a writer, artist, teacher,
and entrepreneur who likes to break the rules. I have a slight obsession with kids books and all things Dharma. In merging that love with my passion for artistic creation, Begin Within was born.
Please check out my website at www.beginwithin.ca.